Farmers lose Tk 4,000cr in last 3 months for political unrest
The poultry sector is an example how political unrest in a country can bring its businesses to their knees.
The situation is so grave that poultry farmers do not worry about losses now, they are only struggling to save the business from destruction.
Around 5,000 farmers participated in a protest rally in the capital yesterday and brought nearly 25,000 day-old chicks with them.
The farmers were so frustrated and helpless that they were offering the chicks to passersby, for free.
They cannot even keep their farms shut as
production of eggs and chicken involves a natural cycle.
“Please take the chicks and feed them. We can’t see them dying,” a farmer was telling a passerby at the rally in front of the National Press Club.
As the supply chain was severely disrupted due to the current political violence, the farmers are unable to sell eggs and chicken or store those. They cannot even buy feed due to a cash crunch.
The farmers said the situation is worse than that in 2007-2012 when a bird flu epidemic washed away around Tk 8,000 crore.
But the sector lost more than Tk 4,000 crore in the last three months due to political unrest, said Moshiur Rahman, convener of Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee, a platform that represents six associations in the sector.
Around 36,000 farms were closed down across the country in recent times.
More than 80 vehicles carrying feed, chicken and day-old chicks were either set ablaze or damaged during the recent shutdowns and blockades, Rahman said.
Source: The Daily Star
